Dear colleague, We hope to find you well! Please find below further details about a call for manuscripts for an Authors’ Workshop preparing a Special Issue on: “De-Democratization and the Promotion and Protection of Democracy”. If you have further questions, please get in contact with us. Thank you. Kind regards, Sonja Grimm, Karina Mross, and Brigitte (Britta) Weiffen **** Call for manuscripts for an Authors’ Workshop preparing a Special Issue on: “De-Democratization and the Promotion and Protection of Democracy” Call as of 9 January 2023 Editors: Sonja Grimm, University of Konstanz, Germany, sonja.grimm@uni-konstanz.de Karina Mross, German Institute of Development and Sustainability, Germany, Karina.Mross@idos-research.de Brigitte Weiffen, The Open University, UK, brigitte.weiffen@open.ac.uk State of the Art and Research Gap: After decades of democratization, de-democratization is underway worldwide. The average levels of freedom and democratic quality have declined globally, the pace of democratic breakdown accelerated, and the number of democratic transitions dropped, too. These trends can be observed across all world regions including Central and Eastern Europe, the Western Balkans, Latin America and the Caribbean, North and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Asian-Pacific regions. Even among the economically prosperous OECD countries, some states have recently declined in freedom. De-Democratization can be understood as gradual democratic regression, democratic breakdown and (re-) consolidation of authoritarian rule. It often includes an incremental strangulation of democracy by elected (typically populist) heads of government who gradually disenable institutional checks and balances, the political opposition, independent media, and other political and societal control mechanisms. Confronted with these phenomena, democracy promoters and protectors of liberal democracy seem badly prepared to reverse processes of de-democratization. In fact, de-democratization affects the politics of the promotion and protection of democracy in several ways: (1) de-democratization in “recipient” countries requires democracy promoters and protectors to adapt to a context that is less susceptible to democratic external influences; (2) de-democratization in “donor” countries challenges the promotion and protection of democracy from within; and, (3) de-democratization overall plays into the cards of non-democratic third actors, such as China or Russia, decreasing the leverage of traditional democracy promoters and protectors worldwide. Research Objectives: This Special Issue studies the effects of de-democratization on the promotion and protection of democracy, and how democracy promoters and protectors deal with them, through systematic, theory-guided and empirically sound comparative research. Concretely, this Special Issue aims to (1) analyse and explain the emergence, endurance and effects of de-democratization; (2) critically investigate the role of pro- and anti-democratic external actors in processes of de-democratization; (3) shed light on the effects of de-democratization in recipient and donor countries on efforts to promote and protect democracy; (4) and develop lessons for policy-makers on how to more effectively promote and protect democracy in times of de-democratization. Scope and Information for Contributors: This Special Issue calls upon researchers from the social sciences (e.g. political science, sociology, and related disciplines) to propose original research articles on de-democratization and its effects on the politics of promoting and protecting democracy. Contributions should focus on de-democratization in “recipient” or “donor” countries and study the respective effects on the promotion and protection of democracy. They may identify and systematize the conditions under which de-democratization emerges and prevails, including actor behaviour or structural conditions, while keeping an eye on both domestic and external dimensions of this phenomenon. Papers may shed light on the impact of anti-democratic forces (e.g. China, Russia) on de-democratization and their effect on the leverage of democracy promoters and protectors. We particularly welcome studies bringing in theoretically sound analysis that is based on empirical evidence from different affected world regions or the donor states themselves. Contributing papers offer cutting-edge research, based on up-to-date theoretical frameworks, most recent empirical research and methodologically sound analysis. Qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method approaches are equally welcome. Research articles can include large-n and small-n analysis, single case studies as well as inter- and intra-regional comparisons (including sub-national comparison). The papers should be jargon-free and easily accessible to allow for a scholarly dialogue beyond disciplinary boundaries. The editors aim for an international high-ranking academic journal in the social sciences (such as Democratization or Comparative Politics), preferably as open access publication. Please kindly note: All contributions to this Special Issue will be subject to a rigorous peer review. The editors reserve the right to reject a manuscript at any stage of the peer review and production process. Deadlines and Production Schedule: The deadline for abstract submission is 28 February 2023. All applicants will be informed by March 2023. Selected paper givers will be invited to an authors’ workshop that will take place in October/November 2023, either on-site or virtual, conditional upon conference funding. Having contributed to the authors’ workshop, paper givers can hand in their final manuscript for peer review at their earliest convenience but no later than 31 January 2024. Depending on the journal’s policy, we aim for swift “online first” publication of final articles on a rolling basis. Keywords: De-Democratization, Authoritarian resilience, Illiberalism, Autocracies, Authoritarianism, Democracy promotion, Democracy protection, Regime change, Political change. **** With kind regards/Mit freundlichen Grüssen Sonja Grimm -------------------------------- PD Dr. Sonja Grimm Adjunct Professor and Co-Coordinator of EMBRACE University of Konstanz Department of Politics and Public Administration http://www.sonja-grimm.eu http://www.embrace-democracy.eu http://www.external-democracy-promotion.eu